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LaVelle E. Neal posted a blog yesterday in which he announced the Oswaldo Arcia had elbow surgery. It wasn’t Tommy John surgery, but they cleaned up some bone chips. He will likely miss two months. Obviously this is too bad for Arcia who was off to a tremendous start for the Snappers, showing that his Appy League numbers a year ago were not a fluke. But this is the right thing to do. Arcia is just 20 years old, too only be a DH, and that is what he had been doing. He is a good outfielder as well.

People have been asking a lot about Alex Wimmers. LaVelle also mentioned that Wimmers was going to make his first start at Extended Spring Training yesterday afternoon. I learned last night that he gave up a leadoff home run and then struckout the next two batters. In all, he threw 82 pitches in three innings. He walked five and struck out four. I don’t have all of the specifics, but obviously there is still work to be done, but that happens by getting back on the mound.

The Twins minor leaguers garnering the most questions is Kyle Gibson. Many want the Twins to call him up. My response is, who would he replace? Francisco Liriano is the difference-maker and has to be better. Carl Pavano was great the last two years, got some more money for the next two years and has to be better. Those two aren’t coming out of the rotation. And, after yesterday’s outing, Gibson has a 4.13 ERA in Rochester. Meanwhile, Brian Duensing, Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn each have ERAs for the Twins below four. And, Kevin Slowey remains in the picture as a possible starter. I know most people think that the primary reason that Gibson is not with the Twins is financial, to keep him from Super-2 status. However, as Kyle would admit, there are still things that he needs to work on. He is doing what he needs to be doing. He is getting a lot of ground balls, he isn’t walking batters, and he is getting a strikeout every inning. Could he contribute for the Twins now? Probably. But is there a real reason to promote him today? Not really. He will get to the Twins, and he will be very good, but we all need to be patient.

For a ton of Twins minor league topics and information, but sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. The 45 minute show talks about each of the four affiliates. You can find out there how each team is doing in the standings.

Yesterday, I was on the Paul Allen Show at 10:20. Right after me, PA was joined by Twins prospect and Minnesotan Mark Dolenc. It was a great interview. To check out both of those segments, click here.

Alex Margulies and Bryce Zimmerman do an excellent job calling Ft. Myers Miracle games which you can always hear at www.miraclebaseball.com or on their terrific mobile app. They also have been doing bi-weekly episodes of the Miracle Insider Show. I highly recommend it for those of you interested in the Twins minor leagues. Episode 2 had great stories and information on Aaron Hicks and Bruce Pugh. Episode 3 was just made available online yesterday online. It contains stories on “Skittles”, er, Nate Hanson (is he a grinder, an intimidator or a scorer?), the Miracles’ “Needs Camp” (an amazing story), and some great bloopers.

If you have any questions or comments about the Twins minor league system, please feel free to e-mail me, ask me in the comments, or on Twitter.

Thursday SethSpeaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Day – BJ Hermsen, Beloit Snappers

Red Wings Ramblings

Thursday – Red Wings 2, Louisville 5 – Kyle Gibson got the start in the mid-day series finale against Louisville. He gave up four runs on six hits (including two home runs) in five innings. He walked two and struck out four. Anthony Slama came in and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. He struck out three. Chuck James threw two more shutout innings. He gave up two hits and a walk and struck out three. The Red Wings managed just five hits.

Rock Cats Report

Thursday – Rock Cats 10, Portland 9 – For the second straight night, New Britain scored ten runs. They needed each of them in this game. Dan Osterbrock started and gave up seven runs (6 earned) on nine hits and three walks in three innings. The Rock Cats scored two in the first, three in the second; one in the third, two in the fourth, two more in the fifth and had a 10-7 lead going into the 6thframe. The bullpen came through for the team. Spencer Steedley threw 2.1 hitless innings. He walked four and struck out one. Brett Jacobson came in and got the final two outs of the sixth inning, although he walked another. Mike Tarsi gave up two hits, but no runs as his ERA dropped to 1.69. Cole DeVries is proving human his last couple of outings. In this one, he gave up two runs on five hit and a walk in his two innings, but he held on for his eighth save. Chris Parmelee was 3-3 with a walk and his 10th double. After going 4-6 the night before, Chris Herrmann went 3-5. Mark Dolenc and Joe Benson were each 2-5.

Miracle Matters

Thursday – Miracle, Dunedin – Rained out.

Snappers Bites

Thursday – Snappers 10, Kane County 3 – A ten run outing for the Snappers is exciting. Michael Gonzales went 4-5 and his now hitting .298. Nate Roberts was 3-5 with his third double. Tobias Streich went 3-5 with a triple. Jamaal Hawkins was 2-4 with a walk and his fourth double. Lance Ray was 2-3 with two walks. BJ Hermsen was the recipient of the terrific run support. He recorded his third win. He gave up three runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings. He walked three and struck out five. Clinton Dempster got the next four outs. Matt Hauser got the final three outs, two of them via the strikeout.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

3 Responses to “Twins Minor League Report”

I agree on your Gibson comments, no need to bring him up at all right now. I agree Slowey should get the next shot to start. I don’t agree that you can’t take Pavano out just because he’s paid a lot. Slowey is a better pitcher right now.

With the Twins scuffling it’s so great to be able to follow the minor leagues. Thanks Seth and other Twins bloggers for giving us content to read. There are some really exciting prospects. Do you think Herrrrman will be pushed any faster through the organization in the next year or two with the backup catcher situation so ghastly at the majors and high minors?